Idaho governor Brad Little has signed into law a bill that prohibits the consideration of race in hiring or contracting decisions by any agency of state government. The bill also prohibits the consideration of race in hiring and admissions decisions at state-operated colleges and universities in the state. Idaho becomes the ninth state to ban race-sensitive admissions at state colleges and universities.
Cherie Buckner Webb, an assistant minority leader in the Idaho State Senate, stated that “this harmful legislation will remove affirmative action practices that women and minorities depend on for equitable hiring and education access. It is a step back into the Jim Crow era, where ‘equal under the law’ functions as systematic legalization of discrimination.”
Senator Buckner-Webb earned a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational leadership at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, and a master of social work degree at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.
There are four, four-year state-operated colleges and universities in Idaho. They are listed below with the Black percentage of their undergraduate student bodies.
Boise State University (2%)
Idaho State University (1%)
Lewis-Clark State College (1%)
University of Idaho (1%)
